Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 1310
अरौद्र: कुण्डली चक्री विक्रम्यूजितशासन: । शब्दातिग: शब्दसह: शिशिर: शर्वरीकर:
araudraḥ kuṇḍalī cakrī vikramyūjitaśāsanaḥ | śabdātigaḥ śabdasahaḥ śiśiraḥ śarvarīkaraḥ |
Bhīṣma said: “He is not fierce in temper; he is adorned with earrings and bears the discus. His rule is firmly established through valor. He transcends mere sound, yet endures sound; he is cool and soothing, and he brings about the night.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises an ideal sovereign/divine figure whose power is grounded in valor yet tempered by gentleness: he is not wrathful, can endure harsh speech, and remains cooling and stabilizing—suggesting that true authority is joined with self-restraint and beneficence.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues his didactic discourse by describing exalted qualities—here in a compact list of epithets—characterizing a supreme protector/ideal ruler (often read as a Viṣṇu-like figure due to ‘cakrī’), emphasizing both might and moral composure.